Henry Glapthorne
Henry Glapthorne (baptized 28 July 1610 - 1643?) was an English poet and playwright. Life Overview Glapthorne had a high reputation among his contemporaries, though now is almost forgotten. He wrote 2 comedies, 3 tragedies, and a book of poems, which were all reprinted in 2 volumes in 1874. His best work is Argalus and Parthenia (1639), based upon Sidney's Arcadia. Others were The Hollander, Wit is a Constable, and The Ladies' Privilege (all 1640).John William Cousin, "Glapthorne, Henry," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910, 159. Web, Jan. 17, 2018. Youth Glapthorne was baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Faith (Hatcliff) and Thomas Glapthorne. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Coke.Henry Glapthorne, Wikipedia, November 29, 2017, Wikimedia Commons. Web, Jan. 18, 2018. Before he turned 14, Henry Glapthorne was matriculated as a pensioner at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, but there is no record that he ever took a degree. Career From Canbridge, until he emerges as a playwright in the mid-1630's, little is known of him. There is some evidence he may have been employed as a groom-porter in a nobleman's household during some of that time – a later document refers to him as "Glapthorne the Porter" – but there is nothing conclusive. He published Poëms (1639), many of them in praise of an unidentified "Lucinda"; a poem in honour of his friend Thomas Beedome, whose Poems Divine and Humane he edited in 1641; and Whitehall (1642), dedicated to his "noble friend and gossip, Captain Richard Lovelace." The first volume contains a poem in honour of the duke of York, and Whitehall is a review of the past glories of the English court, containing abundant evidences of the writer's devotion to the royal cause."Glapthorne, Henry," Encyclopædia Britannica 1911, 12, 77. Wikisource, Web, Jan. 18, 2017. Argalus and Parthenia (1639) is a pastoral tragedy founded on an episode in Sidney's Arcadia; Albertus Wallenstein (1639), his only attempt at historical tragedy, represents Wallenstein as a monster of pride and cruelty. His other plays are The Hollander (written 1635; printed 1640), a romantic comedy of which the scene is laid in Genoa; Wit in a Constable (1640), which is probably a version of an earlier play, and owes something to Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing; and The Ladies Priviledge (1640)."Glapthorne, Henry," Encyclopædia Britannica 1911, 12, 78. Wikisource, Web, Jan. 18, 2017. The Lady Mother (1635) has been identified (Fleay, Biog. Chron, of the Drama) with The Noble Trial, one of the plays destroyed by Warburton's cook, and A.H. Bullen prints it in vol. ii. of his Old English Plays as most probably Glapthorne's work. The Paraside, or Revenge for Honour (1654), entered at Stationers' Hall in 1653 as Glapthorne's, was printed in the next year with George Chapman's name on the title-page. It should probably be included among Glapthorne's plays. Later years On 1 July 1642, his daughter Lovelace (probably named in honor of his friend Richard Lovelace) was baptized in the parish of St. Bride's, Fleet Street; the record also mentions the name of Glapthorne's wife, Susan. On 23 March 1643, Susan was buried in the parish of St. Andrew's, Holborn, having died the day before in Fetter Lane. The location of Susan Glapthorne's death makes it certain that Henry Glapthorne is the "one Glapthorne, who lived in Fetter Lane", who on 12 January 1643 was identified to the House of Lords as the author of the tract His Maiesties Gracious Answer to The Message sent from the Honourable Citie of London, concerning Peace (1643). He, his printer Richard Herne, and others, were supposed to be brought in to give evidence on the subject a few weeks later, but no further record has been found of what happened to him. Gerald Eades Bentley believes it is most likely he died before the Restoration. Writing Glapthorne's plays, though they hardly rise above the level of contemporary productions, contain many felicitous isolated passages. See also *List of British poets *List of English-language playwrights References * R.H. Shepherd, ed., The Plays and Poems of Henry Glapthorne: Now first collected with illustrative notes and a memoir of the Author, 2 volumes, London, J. Pearson, 1874. * G. E. Bentley, The Jacobean and Caroline Stage, vol. 4 (1956). Pgs. 473-97. Notes External links ;About *Glapthorne, Henry in the Dictionary of National Biography * Original article is at "Glapthorne, Henry" Category:British dramatists and playwrights Category:English poets Category:1610 births Category:1640s deaths Category:English male writers